I took my lunch break few minutes past mid-day and sighed in relief of my freedom to dedicate the next hour catching up with news headlines on the Internet while sitting down to a nice snack and a cold, fizzy drink. There had been some unattended messages on my phone which were burning for attention and I couldn't wait to get it out of my pocket immediately I sat down to lunch.


Bringing out my phone from my pocket revealed a well familiar shocker : my phone's display was lit down with an anxious pop up message from MTN. From experience I knew my phone's display had been lit down for over two hours and my battery had been over-stretched by MTN's greed and madness of earning a few extra box at my expense.

MTN has designed its pop up messages to keep its subscribers' phone screens on for as long as it takes until the phone is attend to. Even if one happens to be in a meeting stretching several hours with the phone being on silent, with MTN pop up message the phone's display will light up and stay on that whole time until it is attended to. It doesn't matter if the phone battery is barely hanging on to the last bar, MTN has designed their pop up message to take over your phone's screen, lighting up the screen for as long as possible.

They wouldn't consider that today's smartphones with large screen estate, armed with qHD, HD and QHD displays are battery hungry and that sending their customers pop messages that light up their phones' screens and keeping it on for as long as it remained unseen is insensitive and callous. It's not surprising though for a company with its track record which places profit above rationality.

But that's not the worst. I have had my senses assaulted my MTN's mindless tactics in their profit pursuit when I received a pop up message from them. It was an advert of one of their products.The pop up message had my phone screen lit down and there was only an "OK" option in the dialogue box. There was no "cancel" button. Only an "OK" button was provided in the dialogue box. Hitting the OK button would have meant my subscribing to the advertised product. I simply hit my phone's return button to escape from that trap.

Secondly, since the pop up message had my phone screen lit down, the possibility of accidentally hitting the OK button while getting the phone out of my pocket was high. Or even hitting it while in my hip pocket unknowingly is also another high probability. I believe MTN is aware of these possibilities and have designed these sorts of pop of messages to rip their customers off from these accidents. That's how mindless and desperate MTN has fallen in their quest for more and more profit. There also would have been lots of old folks who for lack of a "cancel" button in the pop up dialogue and being not acquainted with today's mobile devices hit the OK button and find themselves unknowingly steam rolling the MTN cash train. Personally, I believe such category of people were also deliberately targeted by MTN with such dirty tricks.


I believe the NCC has covered some grounds, but there are lots of work still to be done. The primary aim shouldn't be generating funds for the government but protecting the rights and dignity of every Nigerian mobile telecommunication subscriber from the abuse of telecom service providers.

I can't count how many times they have deducted money for what I didn't subscribe to....I have called customer care and told them about it, at least 3-4 times, and this keeps happening.
MTN seem to be the worst network in the country with this sort of mischievous greed.
I remember asking the rep that picked the call, why they do this on purpose knowing one could be pressing any button on his/her phone, and she couldn't give an answer. Really can NCC do something about this?

Such foolish tactics displayed by MTN doesn't surprise me any more. Even the body that is suppose to protect the right of the common man has been compromised.

It's such a shame, that is, a crime shame that this companies now see the nigerian man as nothing more than game, meant for nothing else but free meal via carefully drafted imperialist exploitative tactics.

They will continue to get away with all this as long as the NCC still remain non responsive to the plight of the common man.

O boy ....una dey suffer ooo...




I sure airtel cant try dt ish. I will jys call dem n ask dem where I can buy gold circle condom in sambisa forest

Why would any conscious Nigerian still be using MTN is still a wonderment to me.

Any company from South Africa, including DSTV are always cash strapped and hungry for profit.

MTN has always been a rogue establishment and I didn't hesitate to port out of it since 2013.

Every Nigerian ought to jettison every firm and company from South Africa as their quest for profit is uncompromisingly shameful.

lezz:
Why would any conscious Nigerian be using MTN is still a wonderment to me.

Any company from South Africa, including DSTV are always cash strapped and hungry for profit.

MTN has always been a rouge establishment and I didn't hesitate to port out of it since 2013.

Every Nigerian ought to jettison every firm and company from South Africa as their quest for profit is uncompromisingly shameful.

I still ponder with wonder when Africans became more imperialistic than the progenitor of imperialism.

It seem every well known vice conceive by the white man is what some disgruntled Africans now revel in.

A pity that the government that is suppose to protect its citizens from such harsh devilish manoeuvre is busy wining and dining with this same disgruntled rogues in suits.

JoeBlocks:
I still ponder with wonder when Africans became more imperialistic than the progenitor of imperialism.

It seem every well known vice conceive by the white man is what some disgruntled Africans now revel in.

A pity that the government that is suppose to protect its citizens from such harsh devilish manoeuvre is busy wining and dining with this same disgruntled rogues in suits.

MTN and the NCC are in bed together.

lezz:
Why would any conscious Nigerian still be using MTN is still a wonderment to me.

Any company from South Africa, including DSTV are always cash strapped and hungry for profit.

MTN has always been a rogue establishment and I didn't hesitate to port out of it since 2013.

Every Nigerian ought to jettison every firm and company from South Africa as their quest for profit is uncompromisingly shameful.

JoeBlocks:
I still ponder with wonder when Africans became more imperialistic than the progenitor of imperialism.
It seem every well known vice conceive by the white man is what some disgruntled Africans now revel in.
A pity that the government that is suppose to protect its citizens from such harsh devilish manoeuvre is busy wining and dining with this same disgruntled rogues in suits.

You're not far from the truth. DSTV has some of the sharpest business practices in the land. Though they may be south African firms but they're own by whites and would have done some studies and research on our way of life and habit and are exploiting our carefree attitude in spending (corruption) and loosed relegation.

It's time the regulators look into all these excesses and force these foreign firms to play fair. Even the foreign airline operators are ripping Nigerians off.

lezz:
MTN and the NCC are in bed together.

Like badly married husband and wife whose sole aim is to defraud it's family members.

postmann:





You're not far from the truth. DSTV has some of the sharpest business practices in the land. Though they may be south African firms but they're own by whites and would have done some studies and research on our way of life and habit and are exploiting our carefree attitude in spending (corruption) and loosed relegation.

It's time the regulators look into all these excesses and force these foreign firms to play fair. Even the foreign airline operators are ripping Nigerians off.

Which regulators, the NCC? The NCC for one is run by a muttonheaded buffoon who makes makes up for his lack of technical know-how with unbridled corruption.

Buhari's government is the master of beauracratic corruption anyhow.

JoeBlocks:
Like badly married husband and wife whose sole aim is to defraud it's family members.

The unholy matrimony was kick-started when the NCC fined MTN some staggering bilions as fine for unregistered subscribers accessing its network.

How that money was resolved birthed the rise of so many sharp practices we're witnessing today, including the proposed data subscription increment.

lezz:
The unholy matrimony was kick-started when the NCC fined MTN some staggering bilions as fine for unregistered subscribers accessing its network.

How that money was resolved birthed the rise of so many sharp practices we're witnessing today, including the proposed data subscription increment.

Obviously, money has exchanged hands at the detriment of the masses.

lezz:
Which regulators, the NCC? The NCC for one is run by a muttonheaded buffoon who makes up for his lack of technical know-how with unbridled corruption.

Buhari's government is the master of beauracratic corruption anyhow.

The NCC is far from being corrupt-free especially with the recent ditched data hike plan. But it is right to applaud them in areas where they have done well.

postmann:


The NCC is far from being corrupt-free especially with the recent ditched data hike plan. But it is right to applaud them in areas where they have done well.

Na you dey spoil them so.

JoeBlocks:
Obviously, money has exchanged hands at the detriment of the masses.

You can say that again. We can't see it, can't prove i. But we can smell it.

Now the telecoms render poor services to its subscribers. From drop calls and poor services and NCC fines them and keep the money in its coffers. While those who have been shortchanged and have received poor service for their money go home with empty wallet. No refund; no compensation.

NCC is always the winner. Sometimes the black man and shame don't recognise each other even when they stare eye to eye.

JoeBlocks:
Obviously, money has exchanged hands at the detriment of the masses.

Money was swapped and dignity together with our protection was uncompromisingly compromised.

Does it not pique your curiosity why it was data cost that was raised instead of call or SMS.

The skeletal bag of bones doesn't know fellow abokís have begun tracking malu with GPS

lezz:
Na you dey spoil them so.

Nah, I'd rather impale them.

lezz:
Money was swapped and dignity together with our protection was uncompromisingly compromised.

Does it not pique your curiosity why it was data cost that was raised instead of call or SMS.

The skeletal bag of bones doesn't know fellow abokís have begun tracking malu with GPS

postmann:



Nah, I'd rather impale them.

Na wetin make you no show again?

lezz:
Na wetin make you no show again?

Hurdles everywhere.

postmann:

You can say that again. We can't see it, can't prove i. But we can smell it.

Now the telecoms render poor services to its subscribers. From drop calls and poor services and NCC fines them and keep the money in its coffers. While those who have been shortchanged and have received poor service for their money go home with empty wallet. No refund; no compensation.

NCC is always the winner. Sometimes the black man and shame don't recognise each other even when they stare eye to eye.

It's all the unholy shenanigans of the select few who establish foolish laws that benefit them and them alone.

The NCC has and will always be a tool meant for the sole purpose of ripping nigerians off. The annoying thing is, what MTN do here in Nigeria, they can't do in other countries....

The NCC have foolishly armed this telecom providers will a gatlin gun, and they've been using it to the fullest. Whenever they run out of bullets, they spread little money here and there and voila! The NCC arm them again.

The recent move in data price increase is a very lucid instance, and it reeks of massive insensitive from the NCC.

Then again, can you blame them? When the people who are supposed to be fighting them are busy deciding "who looks dapper between Toke Makinwa and Tiwa Savage".